Why mice and not other rodents?
Mice are far better pets than any other pocket pets. I'm sure that statement might upset some other rodent lovers but that's my personal opinion. Hamsters and gerbils might seem like the perfect pet but they are far more prone to bite than mice. I've been bit (or attempted to be bit) by several hamsters. Gerbils are not so much for companion animals. They are more of a pack animal that likes other gerbils. Mice on the other hand very, very rarely bite and love people as well as other mice. On the extremely rare occasion it happens there are usually only 2 explanations for it. 90% of the time it's because the person asked for it. They grabbed the mouse to fast, didn't listen to the warnings, stuck their hand where it didn't belong, squeezed to tight, etc. The other small 10% of the time it's because of inbreeding. An inbred mouse has a much higher chance at having a few screws lose. Some are aggressive with no hope of being good pets. Mice are also far better companion animals than many rodents. They love human interaction. They are easily shoulder trained and love to walk all over their human companion. All my mice love people. A lot of this is the owner and how much time they devote to them. If you go to a pet shop and get a mouse don't expect this right out of the gate. However, a reputable breeder should have tame mice like this. Mice are also very agile. They can climb things that a hamster or gerbil can not. Only a mouse can get full use of a critter trail with tubes. I used to build my mice elaborate critter trails which would keep them, and myself, occupied for hours. Watching mice is so much more fun than watching any other critter, in my opinion. I could watch them for hours.

Last updated: 5/3/2007 8:05 PM CST